The Kinect 2.0 borders on alien tech, could exploit vulnerable gamers

Across the vast lands of the internet, gamers have been raising concern about the Xbox One’s Kinect and their privacy, but do we really know just how much the Kinect 2.0 is capable of? The peeping tom super-camera is more sophisticated than we think and has the potential to take advantage of gamers when they’re mentally most vulnerable.

While our primary concerns have been that the Xbox One won’t drop the Kinect requirement and that it’ll always be watching, the Kinect’s other capabilities are undeniably impressive. These capabilities are similar to that we’ve seen in movies or never really considered to be a reality. Something that would be in thousands, maybe millions of homes much sooner than any would have thought.

Jamie Madigan, a writer who writes about the psychology of video games, published a very interesting blog on Gamasutra, discussing the possibility of the Kinect to exploit gamers’ mental exhaustion to sell them games.

Madigan starts off by mentioning some of the Kinect 2.0’s demonstrated features. It can tell where you’re looking, tell what mood you’re in from your facial expressions and even estimate your heart rate by the colour of your skin. The Kinect 2.0 will have night vision and the obvious voice recognition system. Yes, all this is pretty impressive, assuming it actually works come the time to see these features in action from the comfort of your very own home. After which it will transform into a T-1000 model and Skynet will take over the planet! *Cough!* Anyway, here’s the interesting part.

“And though it hasn’t been discussed, I wonder if the Kinect ‘s high definition camera could be programmed to measure one other important biometric: pupil dilation. This would be both awesome and worrisome, because while not exactly a mirror into our souls, the eyes can reveal a lot about what goes on in our minds. Madigan writes.”

It isn’t that far fetched either, but let’s not give Microsoft any ideas here. Pupil dilation can be used as an indicator of how hard the mind is working, when it’s working the hardest, and when it gives up because a problem is too hard to solve. It all boils down to “the more mentally taxed we are, the bigger our pupils get.”. Once the brain gives up, pupils snap back to normal size.

How is it possible to use this data in gaming through a piece of technology like the Kinect? It’s simple. The Kinect could use it to adjust game difficulty, and detect when a player is mentally tired.

“If the Kinect (or any camera) could detect pupil size, it would open up a whole new level of scaling game difficulty. A puzzle game could be made more and more difficult until you’re taxed just the right amount to get you in the zone –something psychologists call “psychological flow.” Imagine playing a rhythm game like Guitar Hero and having the game adjust the speed of the note highway until you’re pushed just to the brink of your abilities based on how hard you’re concentrating on the task.”

The unsettling implication of this capability, according to Madigan, would be that the Kinect would be able to tell when a gamer is stressed and mentally taxed, and then use this opportunity to sell gamers stuff.

“Willpower is like a muscle that can be exhausted by any mental activity, and when it’s depleted we’re more likely to do dumb stuff like make impulse purchases”.

I doubt that should any company try use this exploit, they’d not be caught out by the masses of superior internet minds. However, I won’t exactly put it past the world we live in today to try it.

I like bacon and games, and occasionally I say something coherent about it. I'm not old or cynical, and I'm not the Dork Knight. I AM SHE-RA! Wait, what? View all posts by Yolanda →

There was a laptop from HP a while back now that used facial recognition as a security feature. Employees in a store were testing it and they found the black employee in the store could not be detected by the camera.

Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

What happens if you have blue skin syndrome? (aka: Argyria) and the kinect thinks you are dead?

Trevor Davies

It deletes all the games from your library because they’re not transferable upon death

Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

hahaha

RinceWind

Winner!

Tarisma

Ya read about this yesterday how it will notice hat you have in your room and will pick up what you like and try sell you stuff you like. ie if you have lots of starwars posters it will try sell you starwars based games addons etc.Pretty cool but very creepy.

Oh FFS, enough about all this horsehit surrounding the Kinect 2.0. It’s part of a fucking console and will not teleport you along with a fly to another room or steal your best wankbank moments and share them on youtube or take over the damn world… FFS, enough of this crap already

RinceWind

I can see why people are talking about this. If you think about it, people also spoke about the invasive nature of the cellphone before it was popular, and that has been used for almost all your examples, except maybe the fly bit With the more recent NSA still fresh in peoples minds I don’t think someone can just dismiss this as tinfoil hat territory.

Spathi

No, but it is INTRUSIVE! Why the fuck would I want to buy a console that intrudes in my private space when I can buy a console that doesn’t do it. I DON’T WANT ADS ON MY DESKTOP OR MY XBOX.

gwarth

Then don’t.

Argentil

I think the drama comes from the compulsory nature of the camera, and blurred policies. I agree that yapping on about it is not constructive and annoying. MS aren’t removing it.

RinceWind

Mmm, we said the same about the DRM

Argentil

Difference is, the camera is integrated into the development of some games already underway. That and people seem willing to settle with the camera.

RinceWind

That;s the reason the raging is going on and on, settle. I won’t, but then I don’t care as I’m apparently now a Psfanboyhipsterroadkilljunkiewhoreboy

Mark Wilkes

Well, if MS want to spy on my household they are welcome… all 4 kids running around screaming and fighting with eachother all day. MS will soon have a gigantic headache..ahahahahah..and if they can tell me the 2 teenagers moods, all the better for me!

Argentil

You sadist.

Darren Peach

Its people like you that allow things like this to sneak past us…….

Anon A Mouse

Can’t you just do to the kinetic what you’re going to do to the blue light in front of the PS4? Tape it shut?

Argentil

Might give you an error saying the Kinect can’t pick you up.

Sir Rants-a-Lot Llew

Just put a pic of someone up in front of it. Wonder if it would tune you that you haven’t moved in like 3 weeks and suggests you phone an ambulance. Might even pop up an add for it on screen lol

Argentil

It has depth perception, so it would recognise that the photo were a flat surface.
Nice try though.

Or studying your pupil dilation decides you are stoned and calls the cops?

Zubayr Bhyat

BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING. NO THIS IS NOT 1984. ITS 2013 HAR HAR.

Mabenito

“It can tell where you’re looking, tell what mood you’re in from your facial expressions and even estimate your heart rate by the colour of your skin” < This is racist. I'm black, so how the hell would it recognize my skin color, as if i'm gonna turn green. Where's the ANCYL, they need to hear about this.

BacchusZA

So…… I’m guessing turning this thing to face the wall – Bad Kinect!! Go stand in the corner!!! – isn’t an option, until such time as you have a game with kinect features you want to play?

Charles Clarke

I love how people take the advantages and development in technology and turn them against Microsoft. Its ridiculous really. I mean come on. Its better technology for gaming, sure and it can be applied elsewhere. Robots are learning to do activities from the kinect watching people doing them and reproducing the algorithms. Its brilliant.

Darren Peach

You forget, Microsoft is such a huge lumbering mass of Capitalist extortion that they need to develop new ways of tapping into the marketplace to stay relevant and not fold which would no doubt have a negative impact on the economy world wide, Hence the rationale of this article. Its all about selling more MS crap. The 360 is a good gaming device, Period. But this new thing is a unit designed around advertising product and media content that we don’t really need. Its like watching a Michael Bay Ad….errr Film.

Darren Peach

I am sure at some point in the future, This practice will be deemed unethical, A violation of privacy and human rights and Kinect in its soon to be configuration will be a thing of the past. Its invasive technology that draws immediate suspicion and concern from many. That is not a good thing. I for one am slowly starting to dislike it even more now than I ever thought I would. We live in a world where there is so much new tech coming along, certain things are bound to raise the ire of the masses. DRM, Micro transactions, Always on-line to be able to play single player games, DLC that adds no value etc etc etc.
What purpose does it serve to have our whole lives recorded and stored on a database somewhere ? The answer is solely for understanding what we as individuals like and to be able to specifically target our specific wants.. Now, This may seem like the mind of a conspiracy theorist nut Job but it is slowly happening. Just take a look at how Google seems to know what you like, You tube recommends videos based on what you have watched before.
It is completely harmless noise, But can you imagine the implication if used against you in a malicious manner ? But, I give humanity the benefit of doubt, We are good ?……Aren’t we ?